Anyone else enjoy Chilli on repeat in the 'chilli-er' months? Tonight's chilli mix is served in a roasted butternut squash bowl...
You'll need
Enough for however many you're feeding, I cook for 2 and use 450g mince - this way there's enough for 2 meals, one for tonight and one for the freezer.
Including additional ingredients such as mushrooms, carrots, celery is not only great for flavour but it helps in making the meal go a bit further... "Cook once, eat twice".
Ingredients marked * are optional.
Main Ingredients
- Minced beef, 450g
- Butternut squash*, x 1
- Sour cream* (topping)
- Fresh coriander* (topping)
Fresh / frozen ingredients
- Onion, x1 roughly and finely chopped
- Mushrooms, 1 x punnet
- Garlic, 1-2 cloves grated or minced
- Celery*, 1 x rib roughly and finely chopped
- Carrot*, x 1 roughly and finely chopped
- Grated cheese* (topping)
- Salt & pepper
Store cupboard
- Dried oregano, 1-2 tsp
- Ground cumin, 1 tsp
- Ground coriander, 1 tsp
- Paprika, ½-1 tsp
- Chilli flakes, ½-1 tsp
- Tin of tomatoes
- Stock*, about 250ml
What to do
- Gently fry the onion in some olive oil for 4-5 mins, add some diced carrot and celery if using and cook for a further 4-5mins. Add the mince in small batches and brown it off (medium/high heat). Finally add the sliced or diced mushrooms and season with salt and pepper.
- Make the spice mix: 1-2 tsp oregano, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp ground coriander, ½-1 tsp paprika, ½-1 tsp chilli flakes and some grated fresh garlic or a tsp garlic granules. Add to the beef, mix well and fry off for 3 or 4 minutes.
- Turn the heat down and add a tin of tomatoes or some roughly chopped fresh ones. You can add a tbsp of tomato purée too if you like. Mix well and simmer for 20-30 minutes - the longer the better. You can also add a little beef or veggie stock if you want a richer flavour (dissolve half a stock cube in 200-250ml boiled water).
- While the chilli is cooking, roast some butternut squash - I had the rounded bottom bit left over, but you could just slice or cube it up and roast. Or serve with something else, like cauliflower rice (I'll link the recipe below) or some steamed greens or cauliflower florets. Much quicker!
- Time to serve up! This meal can be topped with some grated cheddar, a dollop of sour cream and some jalapeños if you want an additional kick of chilli. Enjoy!
